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Traffic Advisory: Streetcar track work to close lanes on SE MLK Blvd Aug. 5-9; buses to replace streetcar service during construction

PORTLAND,Ore.– The Portland Bureau of Transportation advises the traveling public that Portland Streetcar track installation will occur at the intersection of SE Martin Luther King, Jr. BoulevardandSE Stephens Streetfor five days beginning at 2 a.m. Monday, August 5 and continuing through Friday, August 9, 2013.

A single block of SE Stephens between SE MLK Boulevard and SE Grand Avenue will be closed, and construction also will require these travel lane restrictions alongSE MLK Blvd south of the Hawthorne Bridge through the SE Stephens intersection:

Two lanes ofSE MLK Blvd.will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

One lane will be open from 11 pm. to 6 a.m.

Sidewalks will remain open for pedestrian and bicycle access.

The Portland Streetcar CL Line will be shut down during this work with a bus replacement shuttle serving the line. Stops located on the left side or center of the street will board from the right side curb (map available on www.portlandstreetcar.org). Streetcar service is scheduled to resume the morning of Aug. 10.

The project involves removing existing track to install new connections as well as installing a new section of track to allow streetcars to turn around at SE Stephens and bypass the viaduct to the SE Water/OMSI platform. That platform will be closed later this fall for two months as part of the “Close the Loop” project connecting the southern terminus of the CL Line to the TriMet Portland-Milwaukie Light RailBridge.

Track construction will take place 24 hours a day for five days to expedite the process and ensure the lanes and Portland Streetcar service are open as soon as possible. The traveling public is asked to follow signs and use caution in work zones.

Coordinating SE Portland Construction Closures

The streetcar project is one of several construction projects this summer in southeastPortland. Public agencies are working together to inform the public about closures and traffic disruptions and minimize traffic impacts by preventing overlapping closures on major projects.

This project coincides with the start of a 19 day closure on SE Division Streetfrom SE 26th to 29th avenues for sewer repair work and streetscape improvements. It follows the conclusion of closures of the SE 8th, 11th and12th avenue crossings south ofDivision Street for the construction of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project, and the closure earlier this summer of a segment ofSE Cesar Chavez Boulevard for sewer reconstruction, a project that concluded 10 days ahead of schedule.